The process of our copending application, Ser. No. 672,082 filed Mar. 31, 1976, the same date as this application, entitled "Method of Heat Shrinking Thermoplastic Sleeve Wraps on Glass Containers" provides a need for a production apparatus to produce the shrunken sleeve wraps of the polyolefin type material on bottles.
The plastic wrapped containers are processed in accordance with the disclosure of copending application Ser. No. 672,229 filed Mar. 31, 1976, the same data as this application, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,706, both being owned by a common assignee. To control the shrinkage of the heat contractible plastic on the containers (disclosed in the form of glass bottles) at production speed and with esthetically suitable finish on the wraps, which are neither scorched, burned, folded or deformed in the heat shrinking step, a novel apparatus for heat shrinking the sleeve wrap is needed.
After the sleeve is placed on the bottle, they are carried together into the oven device by a straight line conveyor, and therein the shrinking heat is applied such that it does not deface or damage the printing on the outer facing surface of the sleeve, yet the shrinkage must be performed relatively quickly and in controlled fashion to maintain a good production rate (speed) in a reasonable span of oven and shrinkage of certain plastic materials in use today, which are most difficult to control. The plastic wrap must be done so as to provide a smooth and esthetically pleasant appearance in the final wrapped bottle. Marginal control of the shrunken wrap is required to avoid wavy tops or foldover in the sleeve. Satisfactory surface appearance of the final wrap shrunken on the bottle is a requirement.